Maharashtra · updated 29 September 2026
Running a shop, office or factory in Maharashtra? Here is everything you must register, keep and file, on one page.
Checked against the official Act, rules and notifications, including the Labour Codes in force since 21 November 2025.
What applies to you: shop or factory?
Find your column. Everything below is marked with the same colour.
Shops, offices, IT, hotels
Maharashtra Shops & Establishments Act 2017
- RegisterForm A at 10+ workers
- Below 10 workersIntimation, Form F
- Monthly registerForm Q
- Leave bookForm O
- Annual returnForm R, by 28 Feb
- Overtime cap125 h a quarter
Factories
OSH Code 2020 + Maharashtra Factories Rules 1963
- Adult workers registerForm 17
- Muster rollForm 29, monthly
- Leave with wagesForm 20
- Leave books to workersBy 28 Feb
- Annual returnForm 27, by 1 Feb
- Half-yearly returnNot needed now
Where the law stands today
Many guides online are out of date on these four points.
The key rules at a glance
Hours, leave and holidays (shops)
- Working hours9 h/day, 48 h/week
- Rest break30 min after 5 h
- Spread-overUp to 10½ h
- Weekly off24 h in a row, paid
- Casual leave8 days a year
- Earned leave1 per 20 days worked
- Leave carry-forwardUp to 45 days
- Festival holidays26 Jan, 1 May, 15 Aug, 2 Oct + 4
- Women at nightWith consent (Form L)
Hours and leave (factories)
- Working hours9 h/day, 48 h/week*
- OvertimeDouble pay, quarterly cap
- Overtime slipsRule 96
- Annual leave startsAfter 180 days
- Leave rate1 per 20 days (adolescents 15)
- Carry-forward30 days
- Leave pay on exitWithin 2 working days
*The OSH Code says 8 hours a day, so paying overtime after 8 hours is the cautious reading until Maharashtra notifies its rules.
Registers and returns
Every form, how often, and what HivePayroll does for it.
Muster roll cum wage register: attendance, hours, overtime, deductions, net pay
Leave book: opening balance, credited, taken, carried forward
Notice to workers whose earned leave has reached 45 days
Annual return for the calendar year (10+ workers)
Overtime per worker against the 125-hour quarterly limit
Hours notice, shift schedule, managerial and confidential staff
Register of adult workers, rewritten each year
Muster roll: daily attendance of every worker
Leave with wages register and each worker’s leave book
Annual return: workers, man-days, leave with wages
Overtime per worker against the quarterly limit
Registers can be kept electronically, in Marathi or English, at the premises. Print a signed copy if an inspector asks. HivePayroll gives every register on screen, in Excel or CSV, and as a print-ready page.
Maharashtra compliance calendar
Every Maharashtra date in a year. All-India dates are on the payroll compliance calendar.
Every month
- 7thPay last month’s wages
- 15thPF and ESI
- 15thPT return, if last year’s PT was ₹1 lakh+
January
- 1New minimum-wage allowance
- 14LWF for Jul–Dec (₹25 + ₹75)
February
- 1Factory annual return, Form 27
- 28Shops annual return, Form R
- 28Factory leave books, Form 20
March
- 15PT annual return (smaller employers)
- 31Company’s own PT (PTEC), ₹2,500
- 31Form P notices, 45-day leave cap
July
- 1New minimum-wage allowance
- 14LWF for Jan–Jun (₹25 + ₹75)
December
- 31Agree next year’s 4 festival holidays
- —Deduct LWF in December salary
Also: deduct LWF in June salary, and renew your Shops Act registration at least 30 days before it expires. Slabs: Maharashtra Professional Tax · Maharashtra LWF.
How HivePayroll handles it for you
Built into payroll. No Excel uploads, no separate compliance tool.
Set the location type once
Mark each location as a shop, office, IT, hotel or factory. You see only the rules and forms that apply to it.
Registers from your payroll
Forms Q, O, P, 17, 20 and 29 come from the same attendance, leave and salary data as the payslips, so they always match.
Annual returns pre-filled
Form R and Form 27 arrive filled in with what payroll knows. You answer only the questions only you can.
Calendar and reminders
Every due date in one calendar. Mark items as filed, see on-time versus late for the year, and get an email digest until each one is done.
Licence renewals tracked
Record your Shops Act certificate, factory licence and other registrations, and get warned before they expire.
Warns, never blocks
Flags a missing registration, fewer than 8 holidays, or LWF not switched on. Your payroll still runs.
PT follows the Maharashtra slabs automatically (including the women’s ₹25,000 exemption and ₹300 in February), and LWF is deducted in June and December. We re-check the rules against official sources and update the app as Maharashtra finalises its Labour Code rules. We cover every rule notified in the state, and don’t claim “100% compliant” while those rules are still drafts.
Frequently asked questions
Is registration under the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments Act compulsory?
Yes, if you employ 10 or more workers: register in Form A within 60 days of starting. With fewer than 10 workers, you file an online intimation in Form F instead. The October 2025 ordinance that raised the limit to 20 workers lapsed in January 2026, so the 10-worker limit applies.
Is the Factories Act still applicable in Maharashtra?
The Factories Act, 1948 was repealed on 21 November 2025, when the OSH Code came into force. However, the Maharashtra Factories Rules, 1963 continue under the Code’s savings clause until Maharashtra’s own OSH rules are final, so factories still keep Forms 17, 20 and 29 and file Form 27 by 1 February.
What are the working hours under the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments Act?
9 hours a day and 48 hours a week, with a 30-minute break after 5 hours and a spread-over of up to 10½ hours. Overtime is paid at double the ordinary rate, up to 125 hours in any quarter.
When is the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments annual return due?
Form R is due within two months of the end of the calendar year, which means 28 February (29 February in a leap year). Forms T and U for managerial and confidential staff are filed with it.
What registers must a shop in Maharashtra keep?
Form Q (muster roll cum wage register), Form O (leave book) and Form P notices for workers at the 45-day leave cap. You must also display Form M (hours and weekly holiday) and Form N (shift schedule). They can be kept electronically, in Marathi or English.
How many paid holidays are compulsory in Maharashtra?
Eight paid festival holidays a year: 26 January, 1 May, 15 August and 2 October, plus four more agreed with workers before the year starts. Anyone who works on one earns double pay and a substitute day off.
See your Maharashtra registers from your own payrollFree for up to 10 employees. Paid plans are priced by team size, not per employee.
Checked against the official Act, rules and notifications on 29 September 2026. Two points (the ordinance’s status and the factory overtime cap) rest on the best available reading and may change when Maharashtra finalises its Labour Code rules. This page is a guide, not legal advice. For a specific case, check with your labour law consultant.
